CORAL

Through the efforts of GoldenEye Hotel & Resort and Dr. Andrew Ross, Oracabessa Bay has been a leader in coral propagation. In March 2012, the Oracabessa Bay Fish Sanctuary launched its own Coral Propagation Project through the generous support of the Global Environment Facility Small Grants Program. This project propagated 2,000 individual pieces of staghorn coral and out-plantem them within our reefs over an eighteen month period.

Additionally, in August 2012 our Coral Propagation Project was augmented through the generous support of Counterpart International's "Caribbean Coastal Communities Small Grants Program". This expansion allowed us to propagate and out-plant an additional 2,000 pieces of coral, as well as expand our existing nursery program to have 2,000 pieces ready for out planting every six months.

This project is not only working towards restoring the thicket of Staghorn Coral to its’ historical state on our reefs, which increases the health of the reef and provides needed habitat for fish, it is also training local spear fishermen as coral gardeners, and providing gainful skills and steady employment opportunities for them.